I am sure I am far from the only person kicking themselves for not buying some Bitcoin when it first became available. Regardless, it isn’t too late to buy Bitcoin if you are considering doing so. There are other cyber currencies you might want to consider as well. I am not an investment advisor so I won’t go into those. Just do some research and you will learn about your options. What I am going to do is walk you through the process of getting set up to purchase Bitcoin and other cyber currency.
Coinbase for Buying and Selling Bitcoin
I recommend you take a look at Coinbase. There are actually two sites, one is coinbase.com and the other is pro.coinbase.com. As the name suggests, Coinbase Pro is for professionals. It is a much more complex set of tools with much greater functionality. It also charges less than the basic Coinbase site. However, you really are better off starting with the basic site in order to educate yourself, and then going to the Pro site once you are more comfortable. For more information about the differences between the two sets of tools, see this article.
Verifying Yourself
Regardless of whether you use Coinbase or Coinbase Pro, you will need to go to the site and sign up for an account. You will be asked to verify your email address, so make sure you use a real address. Next, you will provide a picture of your identification. Most people in the US will just want to use their driver’s licenses. You will need to take a picture (front and back) of your ID and upload it, or use your webcam to automatically take and upload the pictures. Once your ID is acceptable, the site will ask you for a bit more information. After you have provided this information (name, address, and so on) you will be set.
Funding Your Account
The easiest way to fund your account is to connect a bank account to the Coinbase or Coinbase Pro site. You will be offered this option when you sign in for the first time. A list of banks will pop up. If you do not see your bank, you will be able to search for it. Make sure you know your bank’s routing number as well as your account number.
Once your account is verified you can deposit your money. The maximum is initially around $35,000 (I forget the exact number). You can immediately begin trading once you fund your account.
Making the Purchase
How you make your purchase depends on whether you are using Coinbase or Coinbase Pro. Regardless, you will need to choose what you want to buy, how much you want to spend, and that’s it. Coinbase will handle the trade.
You Can Buy Percentages of Bitcoin
Bitcoin hit $60,000 yesterday. Not too many people reading this will have $60,000 to invest. Fortunately, this does not mean you are shut out. You may buy a percentage of a BitCoin as well as a percentage of other types of cyber currencies. You don’t need to worry about calculating any of this. Simply decide how much you want to invest and Coinbase will handle it.
Storing Cyber Currency
You can keep your cyber currency stored on Coinbase. Coinbase charges a small fee to do so. In the alternative, you can download your cyber currency key and store it somewhere safe.
These are the Basics
There are a lot of different ways of buying Bitcoin and other forms of cyber currencies. You will want to look into different options, different types of cyber currencies, and how to store your cyber currency, as start thinking about getting into cyber currency trading.